Challenge Yourself is an official Snafu Literature forum contest. It operates on a three-week cycle, as explained below. As the title suggests, the idea is not to best each other, but to best yourself!

THEMEBeginnings:Everything has a beginning, even if you never finish it. The best beginnings are ones that draw the reader in and make them starve for more. They raise just enough questions to be engaging rather than confusing, and are descriptive enough to begin the process of painting a mental picture.

RULESOnly prose or poetry allowed. Works must conform with the Snafu Literature forum rules. (Poetry is anything written in verse or with poetic construction rules. Prose is normal writing, i.e. fiction or nonfiction stories or essays.)

Entries must be created WITHIN the cycle time. You MAY NOT use anything you wrote last week, last month, last year, or ever before this cycle. These works may be posted as demonstration of the theme, but MUST be marked as previous work.

If your submission is over 2000 words, please print your work as a PDF and upload it to GoogleDocs or another site which allows sharing of files, then post the link to it here as your entry.

Multiple submissions are totally allowed. However, only the best will be judged. Please post each submission as a separate post.Include a link to your literature thread, literature site, or other repository for works in your post or signature for easy reference for the judge.Submissions must be related to the theme in some way. This is fairly open to interpretation, but it should be obvious to the reader how it relates.The judge cannot submit contest entries.

JudgingSubmissions will be judged by me (Hana). The criteria for judging are:CREATIVITY, STYLE, VOICE, READABILITY (spelling, grammar, and coherence), THEME, and EFFORT. Please note that you are judged against YOURSELF (your previous demonstrated works) and not so much against each other! In this contest, a new writer who puts in a tremendous amount of creativity and effort can defeat an experienced one who has more skill and experience, but didn't push themselves. Further, breaking out of your usual style, or using different thematic elements than you are used to, and trying something new in general are also viewed favorably.

In other words, if you write a paragraph that took five minutes and/or you put no effort into it whatsoever, you won't make it in the top three, no matter how good you are.

Challenge Yourself currently has one judge: Hana. If you would like to be considered as a judge, please PM Hana.Only one judge is in charge and judges a single contest, and any others may post submissions as all other contestants. The main judge may only post exhibition works, which do not count as entries into the contest. If the main judge is not able to end the contest, another may step in and end the contest and start the next. Their entries will then be considered exhibition works.

At the end of judging, first, second and third place will be posted with short critique, plus any honorable mentions at the option of the judge.

The ProcessChallenges operate on a three-week cycle. The contest officially begins on

MONDAY TWO WEEKS LATER: No more submissions accepted. Entries will be judged. An announcement will be made roughly 10-12 hours before the contest closes. Theme suggestions for the next challenge begin. (Submission period ends Monday, May 2, 9 AM, GMT -6, so try to finish Sunday)Judges reserve the right to reject challenge suggestions based on vagueness, being too similarto a recent challenge, or infeasibility.

FRIDAY: Winners will be announced. Voting for the theme for the next contest begins.

MONDAY: Next contest starts.

Good luck and have fun!

Results!

3rd place - Sam4booksAgain, beginning with a simple sentence that holds so much mystery is a really good tactic. The initial scene in the first three paragraphs is really, really intriguing. The shift afterward is a little jarring to the mind, but you dip right back into intriguing with Isaak, and the beginning of his journey. I especially love the humor injected toward the end of your entry! Remember to start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes, and try to experiment with paragraph structure and length.

2nd place - Doctress WhoThis feels like the beginning of a story that could become an epic series. Beginning with something so familiar yet flabbergasting is such a great effect. "Why is there blue everywhere? Wha?" Immediately raising a question like this to hook the reader is a fabulous tactic. Some of your word choices make it difficult for an American to read, but I'm owing that to differences in the language on either side of the pond. Be wary of over-explanation, or you will begin to lose that sense of mystery that first drew your reader in. Also be careful of overuse of commas.

1st place - The end is the beginning, by IrisI love this. While I don't typically like poems that don't have recognizable meter, this flows very well in recitation. I also may be a bit biased since my daughter and I have been spending a lot of time this spring watching things come back to life, but this poem is very evocative to me of the theme. This is shorter than most of your other poems, but that's not a bad thing. My advice for future work is to experiment with punctuation and line breaks.

And an honorable mention. Only one this contest, since RL ate me. Hopefully I will have time and mind to critique more honorable mentions next contest!

Honorable Mention Critique - Death and Thy Father's Door, by BeeAreI love the meter of the poem. It flows very well overall, although the second 14-syllable stanza has some lines that don't quite fit. I know how hard it can be to have a consistent meter throughout, though. I think this fits the theme of beginnings very well in that it's a new beginning after the realization of past mistakes, and it's something that many people can identify with. In the future, experiment with different styles of poetry. Mayhaps challenge yourself to try a sonnet?

Thank you to EVERYONE who participated! I loved reading each and every one of the entries, and I only wish I could have had more free time to study them in depth. I look forward to reading more from everyone!

WalrusM3 wrote:Hope you don't mind me putting a question here, but it isn't always going to be a poem? Sorry, but I don't write poems?

Are you unsure whether you write poem or not?

"Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits."

I feel like I might participate in this, maybe I can sharpen my writing skills again.

It's been awhile since I've written something...but yet again, I'd like to read what the contestants have posted.

"As she raised a glass of water, everyone exptected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, "How heavy is this glass of water?" The answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. think about them for awhile and nothing happens. Think about them for a big longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed - incapable of doing anything. Always remember to put the glass down."~ AnonymousPrevious Quote

I feel as though somethings beginningSomething hateful something boiling something dreafulIs it anger is it vengeance or is just miseryWhatever it is I only feel it just beginning

As it begins it takes over meIt blinds me deafens me robs meIt drains me weakens me overtakes meAs if this wasn't enough it is only the beginning

While the beginning now commences it continuesMy body swells My body shifts My body transformsNo longer am I normal No longer am I human no longer am I myselfWhatever I have become its only the beginning

As this is only the beginning I can only imagine what will happen nextWill I hurt will I destory or will I killIs everything going to be alright Is everything going to stay the same is everyone going to be still thereAll I know is is this is only the beginningWords:155

(Yes I know it's a poem, but leave it with that I matured, P.s. Also I plan on making a second submission)

As long I'm judging, I do not mind larger word counts. I can read a 700 page small-print book in a day.

A good point that I hadn't thought of before is load on the server. So, if you have over 2000 words, please print your work as a PDF and upload it to GoogleDocs or another site which allows sharing of files, then post the link to it here as your entry.

Spirits keep the man high as he walks home with the pleasant smile on his face. He sways back and forth restless under the crescent moon, his mind ascending to the wonderful world of Cloud 9.

It was 12 'o clock at midnight, and he was living a life that wasn't so bad. He almost falls out of balance at one point and another, between love and hate, but regardless of that, he retains a smile on his face. Holding his well-being on his left hand, he drinks some of it and gulps it down his body, and further journeyed down the road that seemed to be a long way home, one step after another. Like a baby who spoke his first words, he begins to feel that jolly feeling again and starts to iterate something so indistinguishable as if it was a language that he only understood.

Life ain't so bad, he thought as he constantly walked past the streetlights that were evenly arranged like a straight line, up and down the hill. He started to feel more delightful than before as he traversed through those hills as it began to feel as if he was riding on a roller coaster train. He eventually reaches the curve and turns a sharp left just like the roller coaster train he was riding on going down counterclockwise corkscrews. Shortly after that sharp turn, the ride ends with a slow stop as he arrives at his front door.

He precisely opens the door with his keys and arrives inside like an angel opening the doors to heaven. He begins to feel uneasy from the intense ride and begins to fall down on his knees, but he continues to move as he climbs up the stairs. Finally, he makes it to his sanctuary and is overencumbered by heaven's weight, and becomes unconscious by the lights that were switched on by his own hands.

The next day, he wakes up with a sharp pain, not knowing about the long journey he took.

-----------------I'm still a bit rusty but there's my submission.

Total # of words: 339 Words. I used this to count the number of words.

"As she raised a glass of water, everyone exptected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, "How heavy is this glass of water?" The answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. think about them for awhile and nothing happens. Think about them for a big longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed - incapable of doing anything. Always remember to put the glass down."~ AnonymousPrevious Quote

"As she raised a glass of water, everyone exptected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, "How heavy is this glass of water?" The answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. think about them for awhile and nothing happens. Think about them for a big longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed - incapable of doing anything. Always remember to put the glass down."~ AnonymousPrevious Quote

Hana wrote:Ayep. If you don't have any, it's fine. I just can't compare to see how you've challenged yourself. I can still provide critique, though.

The last time I've written an actual story was back when I was doing stuff for homework .

Hm...well then I'll do this just once:

Below here is a feeling that I once had while in a temporary state of hypomania. Like I said, I'll do this just once; it came from my journal, and I tend to describe things thoroughly sometimes. It's short, but it'll have to do.

I walked excitedly, thinking of many things that drove me nuts, drove me crazy, and impressed me enough to walk with my blood rushing through my bloodstream to the thoughts that I had.

Then, I looked at the two walls that were in front of me. And all of a sudden, I stopped like a car that came close to an accident. It was brief but the stare felt like it lasted awhile. I began to feel strange, and it made me so...uneasy. But it didn't feel bad. It just occurred to me to just stop and look at those two walls that I stripped of all things that I hanged in anger once in the past.

It was like Medusa's eyes turning me into stone when I stared at it. The wall was pure white, but it seemed so bitter. I almost lost my senses, but I managed to turn away.

But still.

Maybe If I did something about it. Although it's too late. Now it is just there, waiting for someone else to hang something on it. It needs character.

Someday, when I leave this place, I'd like to see those walls again. Somehow.

197 words.

"As she raised a glass of water, everyone exptected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, "How heavy is this glass of water?" The answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. think about them for awhile and nothing happens. Think about them for a big longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed - incapable of doing anything. Always remember to put the glass down."~ AnonymousPrevious Quote

You got your works on a floppy disc? Those things are so old, I remember playing Home Alone 3 on a Floppy disk.

Those were the days

"As she raised a glass of water, everyone exptected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, "How heavy is this glass of water?" The answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. think about them for awhile and nothing happens. Think about them for a big longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed - incapable of doing anything. Always remember to put the glass down."~ AnonymousPrevious Quote